The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Friday Fun: Portland Bike Lanes Pay Tribute to David Bowie and Prince

Biking is very rock and roll. Portland just turned up the volume.

July 29 - Bike Portland

Soccer

Atlanta Piloting a 'Transit Oriented Soccer' Idea

MARTA's Five Points station will be the first to test an idea of building small soccer fields at multiple transit stations in the system.

July 28 - Creative Loafing

Glenwood Green Acres, Philadelphia

An Urban Lesson From the DNC's Host City

While Democrats consider the future of the country, the host city of the DNC offers a great urban lesson from the past: the elegant efficiency of rowhouses.

July 28 - California Planning & Development Report

San Francisco Approves Accessory Dwelling Units

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has approved legislation that will allow the construction of accessory dwelling units, potentially adding thousands of units to the city's housing supply.

July 28 - San Francisco Examiner

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit Employees Get a Raise—Months Before Operations Begin

The North San Francisco Bay Area has lacked passenger rail for decades—but the process of hiring the staff necessary to operate the line on a daily basis has been complicated by the cost of housing in the area.

July 28 - Marin Independent Journal


Senior Pedestrians

A Case for Integrating Housing and Healthcare Services

Connecting affordable housing and healthcare programs can improve both—especially for seniors and disabled people.

July 28 - CityLab

New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina

Unexpected Good News for Children Arises from an Environmental Devastation

Hurricane Katrina may have devastated much of New Orleans, but in its wake, literally, unexpected good work was done. Clean sediment was deposited over lead-contaminated soil, one reason why lead levels in children decreased.

July 28 - The Times Picayune


A Side-by-Side Comparison of Infrastructure Policy Platforms

The Republican and Democratic parties both claim to understand the importance of infrastructure, but they show support in vastly different ways.

July 28 - the transport politic

Polk Street Bikes

On Bike Infrastructure, Cities Can Do Better

Urban bike infrastructure is plagued by three related problems: design, politics, and security.

July 28 - Slate

Palm Tree

Phoenix Planning for a New Approach to its Urban Forest

A city famous for tall palm trees wants to find some shade.

July 28 - Los Angeles Times

Jefferson Park Chicago

South Side Location Selected for the Obama Library

The eagerly anticipated selection of the future site of the Obama Presidential Library has leaked to the press. A formal announcement is expected soon.

July 28 - Chicago Tribune

Airbnb

FEATURE

Airbnb's Listings Expanded in 2015, but Many Don't Last Long

A new statistical analysis of Airbnb listings shows the short-term-rental service is growing worldwide, but suggests that many hosts don't stick with it. Intermittent commercial uses of residences could be seen in the planning context of "mixed use."

July 27 - Martin John Brown

Brazil Olympics

Less Than the Olympic Ideal

A long-read in The Nation pokes large holes in the narrative of the Olympics as a beacon of equality and unity. The effect in Brazil, according to the article, has been quite the opposite.

July 27 - The Nation

Construction

A 'Housing New York' Report Card

The de Blasio Administration set lofty goals for the creation and preservation of housing in New York. So how's that going?

July 27 - Politico

Car Share

Good News on Car Sharing

Car sharing networks that allow the vehicle to be returned to any location were found to have the impact of removing seven cars for each rented car in San Diego in a three-year study released July 19.

July 27 - The San Diego Union-Tribune

California State Water project

California Studies Standards for Recycled Drinking Water

California is considering piping recycled potable water directly into people's homes.

July 27 - Water Deeply

Akron Bus

Akron Putting Finishing Touches on Bus System Overhaul

Akron Metro RTA recently announced the details of an overhaul of its bus system—the reorganization will affect every one of the system's 36 fixed bus routes.

July 27 - Akron Beacon Journal

Denver's B Line to Westminster Now Open for Service

After Monday's celebrations at the new, electrified commuter rail line's only two stations, Union Station and Westminster Station, commuters now have the option of taking an 11-minute, six-mile ride to Denver, costing $2.60.

July 27 - The Denver Post

$760 Million in Transportation Grants Coming Soon; South Side Chicago Projects Not Included

Illinois, Cook County, and city of Chicago officials were disappointed in their first effort to attract FASTLANE funding authorized by the U.S Department Transportation

July 27 - Chicago Tribune

Niagara Falls

The 'Place Cells' in the Brain That Connect Memory to Location

New research in mice finds that the brain has two levels of memory connected to place—one for the task of creating mental maps, and another for recalling locations of emotional significance.

July 27 - New Scientist

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Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

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The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

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The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

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A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.